Fire destroys Blue Hill home; coin, baseball card collections saved

BLUE HILL, Maine — A fire Sunday afternoon destroyed a trailer home on Pleasant Street but the owner was able to save his coin and baseball card collections, according to the local fire chief.

The owner, Stu Mixer, discovered the fire after he arrived home from work just after 4 p.m. Sunday, Blue Hill Fire Chief Denny Robertson said Monday morning. The homeowner went inside and had settled down in front of his television to watch the Red Sox game when he smelled a strange odor, Robertson said.

Mixer went to investigate and discovered smoke coming out of his basement and then called the fire department at around 4:45 p.m. Firefighters arrived about five minutes later but quickly realized the structure was becoming unstable, the chief said.

“It had eaten out the floor,” Robertson said.

Mixer, who lives by himself and has no pets, was able to avoid injury. No injuries were reported among the 30 or so firefighters who were on the scene, the chief said. Though firefighters could not fight the blaze for long from inside the building, they were able to help Mixer save his coin and baseball card collections, he said. Also rescued were a couple of hunting rifles Mixer owns, the chief said.

Robertson said the home was insured. He said he has asked the State Fire Marshal’s Office to investigate, but does not believe there is anything suspicious about the fire.

“It’s still under investigation,” Robertson said. “I don’t know what did it, but it did it.”

Robertson said the home is a total loss. Mixer is believed to be staying with relatives in the area, he said.

Seventeen firefighters responded from Blue Hill, while more than a dozen more responded from Penobscot and Sedgwick. Firefighters in Orland and Brooklin were put on standby during the blaze in case they were needed, Robertson said.

Firefighters had the flames out and cleared the scene not long after 8 p.m., he said.